Fire Badly Damages Motel : Emergency: Dozens of guests are evacuated safely but three firefighters are burned.

A fire tore through the second floor of an Anaheim Hills motel Tuesday morning, forcing the evacuation of dozens of startled guests and causing an estimated $1.2 million damage.

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No guests at the Anaheim Hills Travelodge were hurt, but three firefighters suffered second-degree burns battling the 8 a.m. blaze, which damaged 80 of the motel’s 135 rooms.

Investigators said the fire apparently was caused by an electrical malfunction in a second-floor maintenance shop. Fire officials said the blaze was especially stubborn because it already had grown strong by the time smoke was first spotted by a contractor arriving to clean the swimming pool. Gusty winds helped fan the flames.

As flames raced through the attic, thick smoke was visible for miles and rush-hour traffic on the nearby Riverside Freeway ground nearly to a standstill as motorists slowed to look.

It took 60 firefighters from the Orange, Anaheim and county fire departments an hour and a half to get the blaze under control. The three burned firefighters were treated at Anaheim Memorial Hospital, said Division Chief Rudy Weyland of the Anaheim Fire Department.

The 16-year-old motel passed a fire safety inspection in September and its alarm system appeared to be working well Tuesday, said Anaheim Fire Marshal Gary Wilder. The motel does not have automatic sprinklers, which were not required before 1988, Wilder said.

Guests fled with their luggage to the parking lot and lobby, where the hotel staff served pastries and arranged new lodging.

Contractor Andy Smith said he spotted smoke curling from a corner of the horseshoe-shaped building as he drove up about 8 a.m. to clean the pool. He ran inside to tell the manager, and a motel staffer called 911. Smith, manager Bob Martin and several other workers ran room to room in the affected wing, banging on doors and rousting guests. Some didn’t want to be bothered.

“Some of them didn’t believe it until they opened the door,” said Jose Castro, a maintenance worker. “Some yelled back, ‘Don’t disturb! Don’t disturb!’ ”

Guest Elaine Mason, who lives in the Cayman Islands and is visiting her family in Huntington Beach, said she slept through the initial evacuation--despite a ringing fire alarm, clanging pipes and sirens. Mason, 34, emerged from her first-floor room nearly an hour after the fire broke out.

Mason grabbed a suitcase and pair of shoes before a firefighter rushed her out of the building. She said that the smoke detector in her room did not go off and that no one came to get her before that.

“You hear sirens all the time,” Mason said. “And I figured they were working on the plumbing.”

Two maintenance workers who live at the motel said all their possessions were destroyed. Maintenance chief Robert Walker said his loss included about $2,000 in cash he had saved to help pay for a vein-replacement operation in December. “It’s taken me five or six months” to save the money, Walker said.

Travelodge Hotels offered the guests rooms at nearby hotels it owns.

Among the displaced guests was the family of a Hughes Aircraft Co. worker in the midst of a transfer to Saudi Arabia. The family had been staying in two rooms with their belongings during the past month, said Margaret Palmer, wife of the worker. “Everything we have is here,” she said.

Palmer said she couldn’t get out of bed at the start of the evacuation because she had undergone foot surgery Monday. “I couldn’t get up to answer the door or the phone,” Palmer said. “I can’t put any weight at all on my foot.”

Palmer’s two daughters, staying in another room, summoned help and ran to their mother’s room when told of the fire.

Martin, who took over as manager just six weeks ago, scrambled to find his remaining 35 guests new accommodations and cope without electricity or telephones--at least temporarily. He said the damaged wing will be rebuilt.

Martin said he felt lucky the toll wasn’t worse.

“As long as we didn’t lose any lives, it makes me so happy,” he said.

Morning Blaze Much of the Anaheim Hills Travelodge was destroyed by fire. Rush-hour traffic on the nearbyRiverside Freeway nearly came to a standstill. Guests: 65, none injured. Rooms damaged: 80 of 135. Estimated loss: $1.2 million.